The Buzz

When Hayden met Harbhajan for the first time

Matthew Hayden and Harbhajan Singh have had a few spats and Hayden revealed after his retirement when it all began.

25-Feb-2013

Matthew Hayden and Harbhajan Singh have had a few spats and Hayden revealed after his retirement when it all began.

“I loved playing the people who geed me up, tell me I can't do something - that's what he [Harbhajan] told me the first time we met,” Hayden told the Sun-Herald. Australia was playing a practice match and he said, 'I hope you get picked for Australia.' He didn't know, but in that game I was trying to rotate the strike really defensively so I didn't show him any of my key strategies before the Test. I was batting rubbish and he had every right to say what he did. My comeback to him was saying, 'We'll see.' That's all I said.

“First ball he bowled in the Test, I ran down and hit him over the top of mid-off. I said, 'OK, there's my answer.' Because there's a language barrier, I think it may have sounded to him more offensive than it really was. There was always a real tension between us, but I respect what he's done in his career. And in his life, he has looked after his entire family. I respect that.”

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A rugby tackle for Ryder

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Justin Vaughan is likely to talk to his counterparts at the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) as he explores ways to deal with Jesse Ryder's alcohol problem.

Judhajit

25-Feb-2013

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Justin Vaughan is likely to talk to his counterparts at the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) as he explores ways to deal with Jesse Ryder's alcohol problem.

The move comes after the NZRU fronted the All Blacks player Jimmy Cowan and fined him after a series of incidents involving excess alcohol consumption, which helped him cut the booze. NZC took a similar approach with Ryder, dropping him from a one-dayer and fining him after his drinking session in Wellington.

"I would like to speak to the NZRU to understand the protocols the All Blacks had around Jimmy Cowan's publicised problems," Vaughan told New Zealand-based daily, the Sunday Star Times. "I think we can share ideas with each other, although we have to remember every case is different."

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Declining Test attendances a worry for Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar, though not worried about the survival of Test cricket in the wake of Twenty20 and ODIs, has said the declining attendance for Tests in India is an area of concern

Siddhartha Talya

25-Feb-2013

Sachin Tendulkar, though not worried about the survival of Test cricket in the wake of Twenty20 and ODIs, has said the declining attendance for Tests in India is an area of concern. “Test cricket has its own place. There is no threat to Test cricket from IPL or T20 World Cup or even 50-over matches. But I am only concerned about the falling attendance for Test matches in India,” he said.

However, he had a potential solution for the problem. "I have a suggestion for the BCCI. Whenever Test cricket is played, local school and college students should be allowed free entry on weekends so that 10 years down the line these children will become lovers of Test cricket,” Tendulkar said. "I remember when I was a 10-year old, I went to the Wankhede stadium and watched the West Indies in action. I still remember Michael Holding's bowling in that match."

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India's brief tryst with double-sided bats

The double-sided bat used by New South Wales batsman David Warner in a domestic match against South Australia was not the first experiment with such an innovation

Siddhartha Talya

25-Feb-2013

The double-sided bat used by New South Wales batsman David Warner in a domestic match against South Australia was not the first experiment with such an innovation. Double-sided bats were trialled in India in 1982 to enable batsmen to play unconventional shots as forcefully as possible. The bat, first made in Meerut, was compressed from both sides, while its handle was built thin to provide balance.

“There was a lot of demand for special bats even later for Sixes tournaments. There was a craze for six-a-side tournaments held in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, and we made the bat specifically for those tournaments,” Rakesh Mahajan, the owner of bat-maker BDM told the Indian Express. “Before going for mass production, we gave away bats to players for practice. In fact, during the Singapore tournament, players like Kapil Dev, Arjuna Ranatunga, Joel Garner, Rumesh Ratnayake used those bats at the nets.”

However, the bats fell out of favour with players. “It wasn’t liked by players because they wanted something more conventional. There was very little scope for experimentation back then.

“These bats have one major drawback — there’s no meat on them. It’s good for players who prefer to time the ball, but this version of cricket [Twenty20] is all about force. In fact, these days players come to us with the demand of increasing the meat on the bat to 15 inches - which is not easy because the imported willow doesn’t have that much width.”

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Double-sided bat to debut

Most reverse-sweeps still come off the front of the bat - Andrew Symonds' version of the stroke being an exception - but batsmen could soon have the option of using the back of their blade

Brydon Coverdale

25-Feb-2013

Most reverse-sweeps still come off the front of the bat - Andrew Symonds' version of the stroke being an exception - but batsmen could soon have the option of using the back of their blade. A double-sided bat will be trialled during two Australian domestic Twenty20 games this week.

David Warner, the New South Wales batsman who has just signed up for the IPL, will use the bat against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday and Victoria's Aiden Blizzard will test it against Western Australia at the MCG on Thursday. Warner had a hit with the new-style bat in the SCG nets on Sunday and he said he didn't think it would significantly change the game.

"Generally when I'm playing the reverse I'm swapping hands, and now I don't really have to so it's going to be better. It gives you a couple of extra seconds," Warner told the Age. "If people think it's going to be an advantage to batsmen, I have to disagree.

"The person who is using the timber is in control, so I just see it as another shot for other people to try as well. Everyone is trying it these days, especially in Twenty20, so why not have the back of the bat flat as well? It makes it easier, but it's not a real advantage. You've still got to play the shot."

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Dhoni gets extortion letter

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been provided with extra security after reportedly receiving an extortion letter demanding Rs50 lakh (US$ 103,091)

Nishi Narayanan

25-Feb-2013

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been provided with extra security after reportedly receiving an extortion letter demanding Rs50 lakh (US$ 103,091). News reports say his security has been upgraded to ‘Z’ category – the highest level in India - and he has a 45-strong team protecting him. Police officials said Dhoni's family received the extortion letter on Monday. Earlier this month, Dhoni travelled unescorted to the Ranchi airport after seemingly being unsatisfied with the level of security given to him. He also applied for a licence for a .9mm pistol.

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Oldest surviving Test cricketer turns 98

He is the only genuine double All Black, representing New Zealand at Test level in both cricket and rugby

Judhajit

25-Feb-2013

He is the only genuine double All Black, representing New Zealand at Test level in both cricket and rugby. One of Wellington's – and New Zealand's – most remarkable sportsmen, Eric Tindill, turned 98 last Thursday.

Tindill also umpired in Tests and was a Wellington and New Zealand selector. For the past four years, he has been the world's oldest surviving Test player and the second-oldest Test player ever, after Francis McKinnon, who played one game for England in 1879 and lived to be 98 years 324 days.

A left-hand opening batsman and wicketkeeper, Tindill toured England with Curly Page's team in 1937. On the way home he had the distinction of catching Don Bradman off Jack Cowie's bowling – the only time Bradman played against a New Zealand side. The match, between New Zealand and South Australia, was played in Adelaide to help cover debts incurred in England. Cowie and Tindill were delighted with their prized wicket, but others reckoned they cost New Zealand Cricket a fortune. Bradman was dismissed for 11 in the opening over on a Saturday morning and thousands of spectators, queuing for entry, simply turned around and left.

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Yuvraj pretended it was an ODI

The secret of Yuvraj Singh’s success in India’s record chase in the first Test in Chennai could be that he ‘pretended’ it was a one-day game

Nishi Narayanan

25-Feb-2013

The secret of Yuvraj Singh’s success in India’s record chase in the first Test in Chennai could be that he ‘pretended’ it was a one-day game. Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, has said Yuvraj was advised by the team management “to pretend he was playing a one day innings”.

Yuvraj scored an unbeaten 85 and added a match-winning 163 with Sachin Tendulkar on his return to the Test side after eight months, following a phenomenal run in the ODIs against England. "Yuvraj has felt the heat but you need just one innings to turn it around. We told him to pretend he was playing a one day innings, and to play positively," Kirsten told television channel Neo Cricket.

"England were on top but we still felt that we could win. Then it was up to England to make a plan. We went into the fifth day saying that we could do it. The players were nervous but when you have Tendulkar at the crease, playing as he did, the nervousness seems to disappear.”

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Mohali won't be using floodlights

The Punjab Cricket Association has confirmed that floodlights will not be turned on at the PCA Stadium in Mohali in case bad light threatens to disrupt the second Test between India and England

Jamie Alter

25-Feb-2013

The Punjab Cricket Association has confirmed that floodlights will not be turned on at the PCA Stadium in Mohali in case bad light threatens to disrupt the second Test between India and England. The forecast in Mohali for the first three days of the Test is overcast and cloudy, with fog and bad light already a common feature at this time of the year in northern India.

MP Pandove, the PCA secretary, said that like in the recent ODI between India and England in Kanpur, the lights would not be used because of a prior agreement. "We sent a proposal to the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India for the use of floodlights in case of bad light," Pandove told PTI. "But both the teams have agreed to natural playing conditions."

Pandove said a proposal to start play 30 minutes earlier had also been rejected. "In winter months daylight fades quite quickly here. We had asked for the scheduled start of play to be advanced, but the teams have preferred to stick to the original time."

IS Bindra, the PCA president, was wary of the Test being limited. "Instead of having five days of cricket with 450 overs, we are going to short-change the public by about 75 overs," he said "And if there is rain — there is a 10% chance of rain on two of the days — the game is going to be further curtailed."

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England retain blind Ashes series

England's blind team have retained the Ashes, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with one match to play

Martin Williamson

25-Feb-2013

England's blind team have retained the Ashes, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with one match to play. Nineteen-year-old Luke Sugg scored his maiden England hundred to seal an historic win, finishing on 112 not out, after the second ODI was lost to rain. The Ashes series for blind cricketers began in 2004 with a 3-2 win for England on home soil, and this is the first series to be played in Australia.